Google Meet has announced a new update that will allow meeting participants to display their pronouns during calls.
The update, available when using the videoconferencing tool on the web, shows users’ pronouns on their video tiles if they have set them up in their Google accounts.
Administrators must enable the feature in users’ accounts. The feature is only available for Google Workspace plans, including Business and Education users, so individual account holders currently don’t have pronoun support.
Google Workspace adds pronouns to Meet
Once enabled, end users can set their pronouns by going to the About Me page of their Google account and choosing from a predefined list of pronouns or creating a custom list. Additionally, users must set the visibility to ‘Everyone’.
Google’s decision to roll out broader pronoun support across its ecosystem is part of the company’s broader efforts to promote inclusivity. Pronouns are also supported alongside contact information in Calendar, Chat, Docs, Gmail and more, making it easier for others to refer to individuals correctly.
It’s worth noting that while the functionality is currently only supported on the web, users can still set their pronouns on mobile devices, which suggests that Google could be working on UI changes to make displaying pronouns on smaller screens easier, although this is just speculation.
Users are encouraged to ensure their pronouns are up to date in their Google settings to promote a more inclusive workplace.
The updates are part of a broader effort by Google to keep its online collaboration tools fresh and in line with the competition. The company recently announced support for video messages within Chat and transcription of voice messages.